BRIEF HISTORY AND RECOLLECTIONS OF THE VILLAGE OF ...arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/... · BRIEF HISTORY AND RECOLLECTIONS OF THE VILLAGE OF GLENCARLYN AND VICINITY

BRIEF HISTORY AND RECOLLECTIONS OF THEVILLAGE OF GLENCARLYN AND VICINITY

The historical data included in the present resume were derived fromFour Mile Run Land Grants by the late Charles '''T. Stetson, formerly aresident of the Village of Glencarlyn, whose home and property, togetherwith those of his son Francis Stetson are now occupied by the NorthernVirginia Doctors Hospital.

The recollections are my own as I have lived in the Glencarlyn areamost of my life. From 1898 to 1905 I lived in the house on the thenPoplar Street later occupied by Mr. Charles Jarboe, located across thestreet from the home of the late Mr. and Mrs. Towne and a short distancefrom the home of the late H. C. Mitchell. In 1905 my father, Charles H.Lane, purchased the old Mary Carlin house and eleven acres from theMary Carlin estate on the county road now known as the Carlyn SpringsRoad. The house, which is located above the old Washington and OldDominion Railroad, has been remodeled several times but still stands, inthe midst of a new subdivision. The original logs remain as part of theremodeled structure. By way of background a brief history of the area will-be set forth.

HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND

Ball-Carlin TractGlencarlyn is part of the estate of William Carlin who derived title

from John Ball in 1772, who in turn derived title from Lord Fairfax in1742. William Carlin was contemporary with George Washington andwas his tailor. A Tailor's Goose or iron once owned by William Carlinis now in my possession. The Goose was given to the late Mr. Plant, aformer resident of the Glencarlyn area, by a descendent of the Carlinfamily, and was given by Mrs. Plant after the death of her husband to myparents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Lane, who gave it to me at the time Ileft Glencarlyn to go to college.

Contemporary With the Ball-Carlin Tract Was the Torreyson TractLocated and lying west generally of the Glencarlyn tract was the Torrey-

son tract derived partially from the Ball-Carlin tract and partially fromthe Munson Hill tract. The Munson Hill tract was part of the ThomasPearson tract, Pearson being an original patentee. Part of this land waslater owned by Mr. and Mrs. George Reeves, and a part of the tract is nowin my possession. I have an original deed from the Munson family to Mr.and Mrs. William H. Torreyson, parents of Mrs. George Reeves, and thegrandparents of my wife, Ruth Reeves Lane.

Washington Forest TractAcross a small creek known as Long Branch from the Ball-Carlin tract

(later Glencarlyn) was the Washington Forest tract, once owned and sur-veyed by George Washington. One of the corners was marked by theWashington Oak, which was still standing in my boyhood and which Iremember quite well as having a bench mark about three feet from theground. The oak is gone and is replaced by a historical marker. Part ofthe old oak is in the Glencarlyn branch of the Arlington County Library.A picture of the Hall appears in Eleanor Lee Templeman's ArlingtonHeritage, page 64.

Mary Carlin TractAcross the Four Mile Run from Glencarlyn was another tract acquired

by William Carlin from the original Colville tract through the Earl ofTankerville, heir of Colville. Colville was a large land owner contemporarywith George ''''ashington. Part of this tract was conveyed to Mary andAnn Carlin, infant granddaughters of William Carlin. It was later dividedbetween Ann and Mary. Mr. Plant acquired part of the Mary Carlin tractafter her death. Another portion went to Joshua De Vaughan and hisnicces Emma Reese and Mary Lowe. Uncle Josh, as we knew him, andhis niece Emma looked after Mary Carlin in her later years. The MaryCarlin house was later sold to a Mr. Hamilton by the heirs of Charles H.Lane, and by Hamilton to the late Mr. and Mrs. Lester Boyles, and thencefrom their heirs was conveyed to the present owners.

Carlin SpringsThis was a picnic and resort area on the Carlin estate prior to the found-

ing of the village of Glencarlyn. It was located near the Southern Rail-road Station on the Carlin property and included a dancing pavilion,rustic bridges and other rustic buildings and furniture.l Part of these build-ings still remained during my childhood days in Glencarlyn.

Founding of Glencarlyn in 1887Part of the Ball-Carlin tract was purchased from the Carlin heirs by

W. W. Curtis and S. S. Burdett, ''''ashington lawyers and founders of thevillage of Glencarlyn. Mr. Curtis' wife was the former Jane Backus, whosebrother was Dr. William H. Backus, founder of the Backus family who stilllive in thc area. S. S. Burdett, or General Burdett as he was generallyknown, was a prominent lawyer in ''''ashington, was at one time a mem-ber of Congress from Ohio, and later Commander-in-Chief of the GrandArmy of the Republic. He also held the position of Commissioner of theGeneral Land Office. He donated his library to Glencarlyn and was aheroic figure in a shipwreck involving the S. S. Ohio in Alaskan waters in1909. He survived the shipwreck and died at his birthplace in Englandin 1914.

1 Cf. Map of Carlin Springs area, Arlington Historical Magazine, Vol. 4, o. 1(1969), pp. 20-21.

William M. KingOne of the early purchasers of lots in Glencarlyn was William M. King,

known as Major King, a veteran of the Civil War, whose daughter MaryKing later became the wife of Dr. Welburn, a prominent pharmacist andphysician in the area. Mrs. King was for some time postmistress in Glen-carlyn and I remember the family very wel1.2

Solon W. StockingI do not remember Mr. Stocking personally, but my father knew him

as a patent lawyer. His daughters Mary and Fanny lived in the area fora number of years.William M. Backus

Dr. Backus has been previously mentioned as the brother-in-law of W.W. Curtis. The Backuses had four children-Curtis, Constance, Will, andHadassah. Only Constance survives. Curtis and Will have many descend-ents in the area. I remember Dr. Backus kept a cow and I obtained milkfrom the Backuses for our family's use during the days when pasteuriza-tion was not known.Laura E. Jones (Mrs. Walter Jones)- Mrs. Jones was acti .•.•e in community affairs during my childhood. Shewas organist at the Episcopal Chapel, was interested in young people andsponsored many social activities and get-togethers.James M. Loughlin

I do not remember Mr. Loughlin but do remember his children.Henry B. Hedrick

Mr. Hedrick was the father of the late Judge Hedrick. I did not knowthe father but did know Judge Hedrick both in his early days and in hislater years.Charles H. Mason

Mr. Mason was a patent attorney and his son, the late John Mason, fol-lowed in his footsteps.

OLD HOUSES IN GLENCARLYN AREA EXISTING PRIOR TO THEFOUNDING OF GLENCARLYN

These included (1) the Burdett and Carlin houses located near thepresent library; (2) the Mary Carlin home on Carlyn Springs Road; (3) theCarlin house located on Carlyn Springs Road on the site of the presentKenmore Junior High School. This was later occup,ied by Mr. and Mrs.Gomer Jones and was demolished to make way for the junior high school;(4) the Reynolds house at a corner now marked by a traffic light onCarlyn Springs Road and identified by a large holly tree.

'Cf. Mary King Welburn, "Recollections of a Doctor's Wife," Arlington His-torical Magazine, Vol. 3, No.1 (1965); and C. Forbes Simpson, "Arlington AreaPostal Service," Arlington Historical Magazine, Vol. 3, No.3 (1967).

Several other early houses are referred to in Stetson's Four Mile RunLand Grants, and I recall most of these houses and their early occupants.The early street names will be used although these have been since changed:

Laurel Street: houses of Sims, Morrell, Harrison, Olcott, and Hedrick.The latter was burned and later rebuilt by Judge Hedrick.

Maple Street: houses occupied by the Loughlin family, the Burdetthouse, the Carlin house, and the B. T. Janney house.

Poplar Street: M. C. Mitchell. This was occupied by a hardware mer-chant and his wife and their granddaughters. Their father was killed inan early automobile accident. I myself lived on Poplar Street, as did Mr.and Mrs. Towne, previously mentioned.

Walnut Street: I recall the home of Laura Jones (Mrs. Walter Jones),later occupied at different times by the Pepper family, the Ramsdell family,the Chew family, and the Oliver King family. Also on Walnut Street wasthe Stockbridge house, later burned and rebuilt and occupied by the Perkinsfamily. Mr. and Mrs. Stockbridge at one time had the Glencarlyn postoffice in their home. The Clarvoe house adjacent to the Stockbridge housewas burned about 1903 at the same time the Stockbridge house was burned.The Backus home was also on ,,yalnut Street.

Mr. Stetson mentions only the houses appearing on a plat in 1890. Othersmoved into the area during the next twenty years but the village remainedsmall until recently. My father moved into the area about 1898 and built ahouse which still stands and which was at one time occupied by CharlesJarboe, which was across the street from Mr. and Mrs. Towne.

THE TOWNE FAMILy-Lived on Maple Street near General Burdett.Fred Towne married Julia Graham, step-daughter of General Burdett.

THE CHEW FAMILy-Lived in the area for many years. The sons, Gray-son, Gus, Freeland, William, and Bowie have all passed away.

THE PEPPERFAMILy-Included two daughters, Mabel and Lila.THE RAMSDELLFAMILy-At one time occupied the Janney house and

later the Oliver King house.THE PARHAMFAMILy-Mr. and Mrs. Parham lived in Maple Street near

the Glencarlyn woods. Mrs. Parham was the sister of Frank Lyon, thebuilder of Lyon Park and Lyon Village. The Parham children were Sid-ney and Margaret. Sidney Parham was at one time patent attorney forCorning Glass Company.

THE STUARTHILDER FAMILy-OCcupied the house earlier owned byMajor King. Mr. Hilder died recently at the age of about 90, leavingnumerous sons and daughters, most of whom are in the area.

THE STETSONFAMILy-Lived in the area which is now the Northern

Virginia Doctors' Hospital. The children were Francis, Elizabeth, and Vir-ginia. Mr. Charles W. Stetson was the author of Four Mile Run LandGrants previously referred to, and another historical book Washington andhis Neighbors. His son Francis is a lawyer and was for many years Pro-fessor of Law at Georgetown University.

THE GOMERJo 'ES FAMILy-OCcupied the Carlin house, now replacedby the Kenmore School.

THE WILLIAMH. F. CARLINFAMILy-OCcupied the old house until hisdeath in 1901. I have a vague recollection of Mr. Carlin.

Descendents of the REYNOLDSFAMILy-Included Tilden Reynolds andIsaac Reynolds.

THE BENEZETTEFAMILy-Included Laura Rice (Howard), James Rice,Ellie Rice, and the Jarboe family.

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE MARY CARLIN HOUSEIn 1905 my father purchased the Mary Carlin house and after some

renovation we moved into it around 1906 and 1907. The old house asI remember it was a log structure with an old barn and shed. Therewas also a lean-to kitchen which was later demolished. Uncle Josh andAunt Emma, who had been caretakers for Mary Carlin, stayed on a while-and then Uncle Josh moved across the little stream to a portion of theMary Carlin tract on which he built a house where he lived until his deathseveral years later. He was a colored Baptist preacher and a very devoutman. There was an old well near the Mary Carlin house with a bucketand a windlass by which the bucket was let down in the well. The well wason a path taken by school children from Glencarlyn to and from the trolleystation at Veitch Summit and was often used by the children in passing.There was also an old spring on the Carlin place.

There were three old fireplaces, one in the basement and the other twoin the large living room. These were originally the only source of heat.There were andirons and cooking equipment, including pots and kettles,which had obviously been used during the early days.

My father, Charles H. Lane, tore down the lean-to and built a moremodern kitchen. Also other additions were made to the house. The doorshad H & L hinges and an old lock with a huge key. Unfortunately someof these early and irreplaceable items were destroyed at a later date.

The Bon Air Baptist Church was started by my father and mother inthe log house around 1914.Neighbors

Among our neighbors at the Mary Carlin house were the Plant family,who occupied the former Ann Carlin house. Mr. Plant was a governmentarchitect who planned the remodeling of the Capitol building, and builta barn partly out of timbers from the old Capitol. Mr. Plant was ongl-nally from Minneapolis where he had been a prominent architect. Mrs.

Plant was a Greenleaf and there were many joking comments about aPlant marrying a Greenleaf. Their children were Leland, Margaret(Backus), John, at one time a manufacturer of gloves, James, and Susan.Susan is the only present survivor. Margaret, John, and James have sur-viving children. Margaret married Will Backus and they have descendentsin the area.The Seaton Family

Mr. Charles H. Seaton was an expert in the Department of Agriculture.He purchased a part of the old Carlin tract which was not included inthe Glencarlyn village. Their children were Dorothy (Garner) , Jerome, andHelen. Jerome graduated from Penn State and taught soils at PurdueUniversity for many years. Only Helen survives.The Reeves Family

The Reeves farm included part of the Ball-Carlin tract and part of theThomas Pearson tract, the land having been inherited by Mrs. Reeves(nee Lucy Torreyson) from her father. Mr. Reeves later acquired addi-tional land from the McIllhenny family. The Reeves children includedGeorge T., who has a real estate and insurance business in Falls Church,Ruth Elizabeth, who is now Mrs. Munson H. Lane, Sr., and Nelson, whooperated a dairy farm until 1954 and who still lives on the old place.Other Families

Other families were the McNulty family, and the Ballard family, whoalso live on part of the Carlin tract.

TRANSPORT ATIONDuring the early years transportation was probably better in the Glen-

carlyn area than it is now, and included the following:(1) Southern Railroad to the old 6th & B Street Station in 'J\'ashington,

a location now occupied by the National Gallery of Art. I recall the goldstar on the floor of the station marking the place of assassination of Presi-dent Garfield.

(2) The Washington and Old Dominion Railway. This superseded theSouthern Railway and had terminals in Georgetown, Alexandria, and Blue-mont.

(3) The Fairfax-Vienna line. This had terminals at Rosslyn and 12thand Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. The closest access from Glen-carlyn was Veitch Station about two miles from the village.

A one room school was located in the Glencarlyn woods for the childrenof Glencarlyn and Barcroft. Among the teachers were Miss Few, MissMountjoy, Miss Olcott, Miss Perkins, and Miss Coe. The children delightedin playing games in the Glencarlyn woods during the noon hour.3

Tuition for the Washington elementary and high schools was free forgovernment employees and was reduced for those who were not govern-

ment employees but paid taxes on Washington property. Many Arlingtonchildren got their education, especially at the secondary level, in Districtschools.

The children had no difficulty in going from the one room school to theWashington schools and thence to some of the best colleges in the country.Among the colleges attended by youth from Glencarlyn ,vere Harvard,Princeton, Penn State, Cornell, Hamilton, George Washington, etc.

There was a theater train in the early days for those who wished to goto Washington for entertainment. There was also an Audobon Society spon-sored by Senator Henderson, who owned the adjacent Henderson woods,now Arlington Forest. There were festivals and monthly get-togethers withrefreshments, including home made ice cream, home made cakes, and homemade ·:::andy (fudge). There were folk games sponsored by Mrs. WalterJone~ ,:Laura) and Mrs. Oliver King. Japanese lanterns furnished theillumi,ation for these occasions.

Thel',e was a very friendly relation between the white and colored fami-lies during those days. Among the colored families were Charles and Mary-Ball, who lived at Bailey's Cross Roads and had a stall in the Center:\/farket in Washington. Both helped the Glencarlyn families in domesticand yard work. There was also Uncle Josh, the Baptist preacher, who withhis niece Emma Reese looked after Mary Carlin until her death.

Others were Aunt Amanda Tabler, Grant Warner, Belle Warner, Mar-shall Murray, and many others.

These are only a few random recollections from an era now past whichare much more closely related to the era of George vVashington and hisneighbors than it is to the conditions of the present day.

3 Cf. C. B. Rose, Jr.; "Public Schools in Arlington District of Alexandria County,Virginia, 1870-1905," Arlington Historical Magazine, Vol. 3, No.1 (1965).

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